What is the typical BCaBA salary in 2026? In job ads written only for Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, the median posted salary is $67,500, and the median hourly rate is $38.50. We got those figures on November 3, 2026, from 207 ads placed by 126 employers. They sit below most of the numbers you will find in a search, and the reason matters if you are comparing an offer.
BCaBA salary: what employers post
We searched SimplyHired in every state and Washington, DC, and kept ads with BCaBA or assistant behavior analyst in the title. That produced 343 ads from 159 employers. We split them into two groups: ads written only for an assistant behavior analyst, and ads open to a BCBA or a BCaBA. The split changes the answer.
| Job ad type | Median | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCaBA-only, annual salary | $67,500 | $62,875 to $74,000 | 41 |
| BCaBA-only, hourly | $38.50 | $33.40 to $52.50 | 47 |
| BCBA or BCaBA, annual salary | $78,616 | $75,075 to $83,125 | 10 |
| BCBA or BCaBA, hourly | $60.00 | $47.62 to $78.12 | 14 |
| BCBA, annual salary (same day) | $89,000 | $82,500 to $95,000 | 287 |
| BCBA, hourly (same day) | $80.00 | $64.75 to $90.00 | 186 |
Treat the base salary as a starting point, not the whole offer. The typical bottom of a posted BCaBA salary range was $62,000, which is a fair guide to where a newer BCaBA may land. No employer in the BCaBA-only group had a base range midpoint above $85,000.
Our September BCBA vs BCaBA comparison reported a $75,000 BCaBA median. That sample included jobs open to both credentials, and it flagged that a BCaBA-only figure would probably run lower. Today's split shows how much lower.
Why other BCaBA salary numbers run higher
Search for this topic and you will see a tidy list of state averages. We checked three of those pages. Two repeat the same figures: a $70,884 national average, $95,048 for Massachusetts, $94,601 for Hawaii and $39,667 for South Carolina. The third uses the same Massachusetts and Hawaii figures but leads with a $54,274 national median. Two of them credit ZipRecruiter for the $70,884, and one dates it to April 2024. None gives a source or a sample size for the state figures.
We could not test the top of that list. We found no BCaBA-only ad in Massachusetts, a state with 40 BCaBAs in the BACB registry. We found three in Hawaii, and the two that listed pay offered $30 to $47 an hour.
Indeed's average is more transparent: $74,564, from about 1,700 salaries in its job postings over the past 36 months, as of October 29, 2026. It still blends in jobs that may also accept a BCBA. Its list of top-paying companies includes one at $218,400 a year, far above any BCaBA-only range we saw. One employer shows the problem at scale. It ran 89 of the 343 ads we collected, all open to both credentials and listed as "up to" $104,000 to $146,016. We left out open-ended figures like these because an "up to" number tells you the ceiling, not the likely pay.
PayScale sits at the other end, at $63,000, but that figure rests on 74 survey responses and was last updated in October 2025.
BCaBA hourly pay depends on the job type
A high hourly rate does not always mean a higher income. Pay rises as guaranteed hours fall, so compare jobs by job type:
| Tag on the ad | Median hourly | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | $33.50 | $30.00 to $39.00 | 19 |
| Part-time | $40.00 | $33.00 to $58.75 | 17 |
| Contract or per diem | $42.25 | $38.62 to $53.12 | 10 |
The full-time rate lines up with the salaried ads. At $33.50 for 2,080 paid hours, a BCaBA would earn $69,680, close to the $67,500 salary median. The catch is the word "paid." One ad we read offered a salary for the first 90 days, then moved the BCaBA to $33 to $46 per clinical billable hour if billing fell below 30 hours a week. Ask whether you are paid for all hours or only billable ones.
BCaBA salary by state: what the ads can support
BCaBA jobs are too few for a reliable 50-state table. We only show a figure where at least four employers posted that kind of pay, and even these are small samples.
| State | Median salary (employers) | Median hourly (employers) |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $72,500 (9) | $57.50 (4) |
| Indiana | $67,850 (5) | $31.13 (4) |
| Texas | $67,500 (7) | Too few |
| Michigan | $67,500 (5) | Too few |
| Virginia | $67,375 (4) | $51.25 (6) |
| Florida | Too few | $40.00 (10) |
| Washington | Too few | $35.00 (5) |
| California | Too few | $30.25 (4) |
The salaried medians sit in a narrow band of about $67,000 to $72,500, nothing like the $39,667 to $95,048 spread on the copied lists. Hourly figures may vary more because the mix of job types differs by state. Washington's five employers all used the title licensed assistant behavior analyst, a state license.
BCaBA salary in Florida
Florida deserves its own note. It has 1,861 of the country's 4,518 BCaBAs, or 41%. Its Medicaid fee schedule also shows how a payer can set BCaBA value. The 2026 schedule allows up to $15.37 per 15 minutes for protocol modification (97155) by a BCaBA, against $19.17 for a Lead Analyst. That works out to $61.48 and $76.68 an hour, so the BCaBA rate is about 80% of the analyst rate. For direct treatment (97153), Florida pays the same $12.26 per 15 minutes whether an RBT, a BCaBA or a Lead Analyst delivers it.
These are maximum fees paid to providers, not wages, and other payers differ. They do help explain the question an employer has to answer: a BCaBA who spends the day on direct treatment bills at the technician rate. In the ads, the Florida hourly median was $40, from 10 employers.
BCaBA vs BCBA vs RBT pay
The step up to BCBA is worth more than the step up to BCaBA. On the same day and with the same method, the BCBA salary median was $89,000. That is $21,500 above the BCaBA figure, so a BCaBA-only salary comes to about 76% of a BCBA salary. Our BCBA salary analysis from October, using a larger sample, found $89,934.
Below the BCaBA, the median posted rate was $23.00 an hour in our October behavior technician harvest. A full-time hourly BCaBA at $33.50 earns $10.50 an hour more. Check the cost of getting there: the BACB charges $175 to apply and Pearson VUE charges $125 for the exam, and you still need a bachelor's degree, approved coursework and supervised fieldwork. Our BCaBA certification guide covers those steps.
The BCaBA job market: a small credential in demand
This is a small credential with outsized demand. The BACB and Lightcast counted 10,717 US job postings in 2025 that required or preferred BCaBA certification, down 26% from 14,479 in 2024 but up from 6,268 in 2023. At the end of 2025, the US had 4,085 BCaBAs. That works out to about 2.6 postings per BCaBA, compared with about 1.8 per BCBA or BCBA-D.
Read that ratio with care. It divides a year of postings by a headcount taken at one moment. Postings are not vacancies, and many also accept a BCBA. Still, the geography is striking. California had 15% of 2025 postings and about 5% of BCaBAs. Florida had 9% of postings and 41% of BCaBAs.
Supply was flat for years. The registry showed 4,375 US BCaBAs in December 2021 and 4,085 in December 2025, while BCBAs grew from 46,370 to 72,000. The count reads 4,518 in November 2026, though most of that rise is a single jump between June and July 2026 that may reflect a change in the data. Among the states with the most postings, Florida is the outlier at 0.6 postings per BCaBA; the others show 2.1 or more. Many of those postings also accept a BCBA, so the ratio is a signal, not a job count. Our BCaBA jobs guide shows where those openings are and what the roles involve.
How to read a BCaBA offer
We read the full text of one ad per employer, for 114 employers. Because many ads leave details out, treat these shares as minimums. Use them to build your questions:
- Supervision of your own work. The BACB requires every BCaBA to practice under a qualified supervisor; without one on record, your certification is inactive. Ask who supervises you, how often and whether that time is paid.
- RBT supervision duties. About half of the ads mentioned supervising RBTs or technicians. Ask how much of your week is supervision and how much is direct treatment.
- Bonuses. About one in eight ads (13%) mentioned a performance, productivity or similar recurring bonus. Some were large on paper: one listed $70,000 to $75,000 "plus up to $30,000" in incentives. Ask what share of BCaBAs earned the full amount last year.
- Sign-on money. Only 7% mentioned a sign-on bonus. Ask about the repayment terms.
- A path to BCBA. At least 7 employers offered BCBA fieldwork hours or supervision, or described the job as a path to the BCBA. Given the $21,500 gap, this may be worth more than a small raise. Separately, 16% of ads mentioned tuition or student loan help, often as a general benefit, so ask whether it covers a behavior analysis program.
- Continuing education. You need 20 CEUs every two years, including 4 in ethics, plus a $140 recertification fee. About 36% of ads mentioned continuing education support.
BCaBA salary: frequently asked questions
How much does a BCaBA make?
In job ads written only for BCaBAs on November 3, 2026, the median posted salary was $67,500 and the median hourly rate was $38.50. Indeed's broader average was $74,564 as of October 29, 2026, and PayScale's survey showed $63,000.
What is the hourly pay for a BCaBA?
The median posted rate was $38.50 across 47 employers. Full-time hourly ads had a median of $33.50, while part-time ads were at $40.00 and contract ads at $42.25. Higher rates often come with fewer guaranteed hours.
Can a BCaBA make $100,000?
It is unlikely on base pay alone. No BCaBA-only ad we analyzed had a base range midpoint above $85,000, and the highest top of a closed base range was $95,000. Some ads advertised large bonuses on top of base pay, so ask how many staff actually earn them.
Which state pays BCaBAs the most?
There is not enough data to say with confidence. Among states with at least four employers posting salaries, North Carolina was highest at $72,500, and the others clustered near $67,500. The widely copied Massachusetts and Hawaii figures have no stated source, and we found no BCaBA-only ads in Massachusetts.
How much more does a BCBA make than a BCaBA?
About $21,500 a year in our same-day comparison, at $89,000 for BCBA ads and $67,500 for BCaBA-only ads. The hourly gap is wider, at $80.00 against $38.50, though hourly BCBA jobs are often part-time or contract work.
Is the BCaBA worth it financially?
It can be if your job and state value it. A full-time hourly BCaBA was posted at $10.50 an hour above the typical behavior technician rate, and most high-posting states outside Florida show several ads per BCaBA. It can also serve as a step toward the BCBA, which pays more, though the two require different degrees. Before you commit, check which payers in your state recognize the BCaBA and whether local employers hire for it.
How we built this data
On November 3, 2026, we searched SimplyHired for "BCaBA" and "assistant behavior analyst" in each state and Washington, DC. We kept ads with one of those terms in the title that were no more than a year old, and dropped trainee and technician titles. We used only employer-posted pay shown as a closed range or single figure, took each range's midpoint and calculated one median per employer so large chains could not dominate. We excluded "from" and "up to" figures. For two employers whose ad text gave a narrower base range than the listing, we used the base range. BCBA figures came from a separate same-day search using up to two result pages per state. Salaried and hourly ads are reported separately and were not converted. These are advertised rates, not what people earn, and state samples are small. Licensed assistant behavior analyst jobs are included. Registry counts come from the BACB's region data, checked November 3, 2026. Text-based shares come from pattern searches of the ad text, with spot checks by hand.
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